Street-indicator.



WITNESSES:

A. S. B. LITTLE & RI M. FEUSTEL.

STREET INDICATOR.

APPLICATION FILED DEC.3I, |914.

Patented Oct. 5, 1915.

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Patented Oct. 5, 1915.

A. S. B. LITTLE &.R. M. FEUSTEL.

STREET INDICATOR.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. sI

COLUMBIA PMNOURAPH C0.. WASHINGTDN. DA C.

m S S E m I W anna rica.

ARCHIBALD S. B. LITTLE, OF SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS, AND ROBERT M. FEUSTEL,0F MADISON, WISCONSIN.

STREET-INDICATOR;

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented oet. 5, i915.

To all whom 'it may concern.'

Be it known that we, ARCHIBALD S. B. LiTTLn and ROBERT M. FnUsTEL,citizens of the United States, residing, respectively, at Springfield,in the county of Sangamon, State of Illinois, and at Madison, in thecounty of Dane, State of Wisconsin, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Street-Indicators, of which the following is a full,clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, forming a part hereof.

Our invention has relation to improvements in street indicators forpassenger (or other) cars; and it consists in the novel features ofconstruction more fully set forth in the specifications and pointed outin the claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a front face elevation of the indicator boxor casing with reducing gear casing attached; Fig. 2 is a top plan ofthe left-hand end of Fig. l, the

casing of the reducing gear being in sec-V tion; Fig. 3 is an enlargedvertical longitudinal section through the casing or box of the reducinggear, on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2: Fig. 4 is a top plan of the indicatorbox, with parts broken away to expose the interior thereof; Fig. 5 is avertical longitudinal section on the rig-Zag line 5-5 of Fig. I; Fig. 6is a vertical cross-section on the line 6 6 of Fig. l; Fig. 7 is avertical cross-section on the line 7-7 of Fig. l, the box being brokenin the middle; Fig. 8 is a vertical cross-sectional detail on the line 88 of Fig. 5, showing the direction indicator; Fig. 9 is a. top plan ofthe lo-wer web-guide or apron; Fig. 10 is a front elevation of theweb-guide partly broken away; Fig. 11 is a vertical cross-section on thezi g- Zag line 11-11 of Fig. l0; and Fig. l2 is a diagramma-ticillustration of the slot in the web showing its relation to theweb-advancing disk or wheel.

The present invention is directed to improvements in street indicatorsfor rail-4` way cars generally, and street cars in particular, having,for its object to provide an indicator which may be applied to a car'however propelled. It may be applied for example to cars propelledelectrically, by steam, air, gas, or by draft animals, the reasontherefor being that the mechanism of the indicator is independent ofthe-motive power, deriving as it does, its power from the rail alongwhich the car travels.

A further object is to provide an indicator presenting a wide range ofinformation; one which is positive in action; one which is reliable; onereadily applied to existing cars; one in which any error is readilycorrected; one susceptible of many modifications in construction withouta departure from the basic principle of its operation, or from thespirit or nature of the invention.; and one possessing further and otheradvantages, better apparent from a` detailed description of theinvention which is as follows.

Referring to the drawings, 20 represents a shaft to which rotation isimparted in any suitable way by the travel of the car, said shaftterminating in a bevel pinion 21 meshing with a similar pinion 22 at theouter end of a shaft 23 forming one of the members of suitable reducinggears confined in the box or casing 28, the said shaft being mounted onball bearings at the bottom of said box, and carrying a pinion 29adjacent one of the walls of the box, said ypinion meshing with a gearwheel 30 on a parallel wormshaft 3l, the worm' j pinion 32 whereofmeshes with a worm gear 33 in the box, the gear 33 being mounted on ashaft 34 projecting with one end through the box wall, as fully shown inFig. 2. IVe do not of course wishV to be limited to this special form orconstruction of reducing gear, any equivalent thereof answering ourpurpose.

Bolted, or otherwise secured to the shaft 34, so as to form an extensiontherefor, is the clutch-shaft 35 mounted between, and extending throughone of, two opposite walls of the indicator casing or box 36, said shafthaving mounted thereon within the casing 36, the opposing bevel pinions37, 37', (Fig. 6) which are in mesh at points diametrically opposite oneanother with a bevel gear wheel 38 at one end of a counter-shaft 39disposed at right angles to the clutch-shaft 35 and mounted in bearingsor standards 40, 40, at the bottom of the indicator box 36, the fartherend of the shaft terminating in a bevel pinion 4l (Fig. 5).

Formed with the pinions 37, 37', respectively, are the femaleclutch-sections or members t, t, with which is adapted to alternativelycooperate the adjacent portion of a sliding double-male member m whichis slidingly feathered to the shaft 35 as Well understood in the art, sothat with a rotation of the shaft 35 in a given direction, when the malefm is shifted into engagement with the female t of the pinion 37,rotation in a. given direction will be imparted to the gear 38 and itsshaft 39; and when the male is shifted to engage the female t of thepinion 37., rotation will be imparted tothe gear 38 and its shaft 39 inthe opposite direction. lvVhen the member m is shifted toan'intermediate point on the shaft 35 so as to engage neither member tor t, no rotation Will be imparted to the shaft 39.

.The mechanism for shifting the clutch member fm, is as fol-lows:Disposed ina transverse bottom trough or basin E ofthe box 36 is ascrew-shaft e2, one end of Which is provided 1'vith a square orpolygonal terminal e0 extending outside the box, said Vsquare endvreceiving the socket of a suitable detachable crank handle A by whichrotation may be imparted to the screw-shaft in either direction, saiddirection depending on i Whether the car is inbound or outbound. Adirection indicator r marked with the Words In and Out (Fig. l) servesto guide the operator inv determining the direction he shall turn thecrank A. to effect a shifting of the member m to cause it'to engage oneor the other of the female sections t, t. The shaft 419 is provided witha screw or threaded portion 43 which is traversed by the interiorlyscrew-threaded terminal of the lowerarm of a clutch-shifting member 44,said shifter member being formed with an intermediate hub portion orenlargement z' tting loosely on a guide rod I5 mounted in the box 36,the hub being limited by pins or pegs I6 on the rod, in itsreciprocating movements (Fig. G). The free end of the upper arm of theclutch shifter 44e terminates in the usual fork 7 for spanning thegroove of the male member m. It will be readily seen from theconnections described, that With a turn of the crank A and shaft 42 inone direction, the shifter 4A Will be caused to travel in a givendirection so as to shift the member m into engagement With one of thefemale members t', and with a turn of the crank in the oppositedirection, the shifter will travel in the opposite direction, therebycausing the member mto engage the opposite female clutch member, theshaft 39 being caused to rotate in one direction orfthe other, depending'on which female clutch member is engaged. When the member m stands outof engagement with both members 75,15', no rotation is imparted to theshaft 39, the hubs of the pinions 37, 37'., being loose on theclutch-shaft 35, thus allowing the clutch shaft to rotate Withoutaffecting the gear 38. Obviously, from the manner of their mounting(Fig. 6) the-loose pinions 37,I ,j areheld against longitudinal.

Vdisplacement on the shaft 35 so that they remain permanently in meshwith the gear 38. l

ls/Ieshing with Vthe pinion LIl on the counter-shaft 39 is Ya bevelpinion 47 secured to the centrally disposed vertical Web-driving shaft Smounted in the indicator box or casing 36, said shaft having securedthereto, suitable disks or Wheels d8, 4S, Which are provided withradially disposed peripheral teeth or pins 49 meshing with properlyspaced openings or holes u distributed along the web or indicator sheet50 on which the names of the streets (and advertising matter if desired)are printed, the Web traveling horizontally across the casing 36, andhaving the necessary section thereof exposed Vthrough a glass plate Grin the front Wall of the casing.v rIhe glass carries an arrow I) whichis marked directly over the name of the street which the car is about tocross, or which the car has reached, the vname of'at least one streetwhich the car has already Vthat the web 50 is traveling to the. left, it

shoivs thatQnd street has been passed and that 4th' Vstreet is the nentto be crossed. If the web travels to theright then it is 4th streetwhich has been passed, and 2nd street the next to be crossed,3rd streetbeing the street the car4 is crossing. rEhe web also indicates thestreet on which the car is traveling. Thus in Fig. l` the Web shows thecar to be traveling on Main Street. Should the car pass to anotherstreet, the web would indicate that fact. As shofvn in Fig. l, the webhas marked thereon suitable instructions, as for example Transfer toMarket indicating that a passenger shall transfer to Market on thecorner of Main and 2nd streets. It may also indicate otherf directions(on the order of advertisements) such as Theatre 7 :30 and 9:30, MusicStore, showing that the theater and music store are to be found on thecorners of the streets- Where marked on the Web. Y

To indicate when the clutch member m is in proper engagementtocorrespond With the in-bound trip of the car, Wesecure to the interiorlyVthreaded end of the member 44 traversing the screw-shaft 212, a pin 5lterminating in a head 52 (Figs. 5, 8), tliepinV traversing a slot sformed inthe inner vvall of the trough or basin E, said pin coperatingwithl an indicator I marked on a platey 53'secured to the trough Wall,saidA indi-j cator having marked thereon the Words In, Out,VV and N,corresponding respectively to the notations, in, out and the clutcharrow .on the indicator r 1):

which instructs the .operator in Which'fd-irection he is to turnthecrank A to bring the clutch member m into engagement with one or theother of females t, t', or to Vbring it into an intermediate or neutral(N) position so as to disengage it from both females. |The indicator Iis therefore a check on the indicator r. In other words, when theoperator turns the crank A (Fig. l) clockwise or toward the notation in,as pointed by the arrow, the shaft 42 will be turned in proper directionto shift the clutch member fm, to the right (Fig. 6) so as to cause itto engage the female member t on the pinion 37, whereby the gear 38 andits shaft 39 are turned in proper direction to advance the web 50 in adirection corresponding to the inbound trip of the car. When thecrank Ais turned counter-clockwise the reverse of these operations takes place,the member m being shifted to engage the female t on the pinion 37, sothat the web 50 is advanced in the opposite direction. When the membersm, t, arein engagement, the head 52 of the pin 5l will be opposite thein mark on the indicator I, and when the members m., t, are engaged, thehead 52 will be opposite the out mark on said dial, the pin head comingopposite the N or neutral mark when the member m is disengaged from bothof the clutch members t, t.

It is of course essential that during the advances lof the web 50, thesame should be properly guided and for that purpose we make thefollowing provision: Disposed opposite the front wall of the indicatorbox 36 in front of each web-actuating wheel 48 is a sheet metal apron orplate 54, having an outwardly bent portion 55 terminating in a verticalflange 56 through which the plate is fastened to the said front wall ofthe box (Figs. 4, 7). The apron 54 has arear vertical fold folded closeto the apron and extending substantially to the base thereof, the memberm having a parallel folded member y spaced a suitabledistance howeverfrom the member o; whereby there is formed a deep narrow passage-way 79for the free travel of a considerable marginal section of the web (Fig.11) as thelatter is advanced across the window opening of the indicatorbox. Preferably, the web is engaged by the pins 49 in its passagethrough the passage or guide-way p, and to permit the pins to reach theweb, the members 54 and a: are provided with elongated registering slotso, c, of equal width, and the member or fold jz/ is provided with a slotc of equal length but somewhat wider (Figs. l0, 1l), the wide slotallowing for a freel traverse therethrough of the peripheral portion ofthe disk 48, whereas `the joint slot c, c, allows for the free playtherethrough of the pins 49, so that the latter mayproperly engage theholes u to actuate the web. The web is additionally guided by thevertical rollers 57, 58, suitably mounted in the box 36 on oppositesides of the shaft S, the purpose of the apron being more to offer aproper support and guide for the web as it is seized and advanced by theradial pins or teeth 49 of the disks 48. The ends of the web are securedto hard wood winding rollers 59, 59', respectively, the former beingmounted on a shaft 60 and the latter on a shaft 60. One end of the shaft60 terminates in a square end w for applying a crank handle A,a likesquare end w terminating the shaft S and for a like purpose (Fig. l).

In its advances, the web 50 of course should be maintained taut so as towind and unwind positively, and that it may present an unwrinkledsurface to the eye of the reader. Proper tension is thereforepermanently exerted on the web for this purpose by the followingmechanism: Disposed adjacent the winding roller 59, on the bottom oftheV box 36 is a flanged cup 6l, the iiange being formed with a slit 62through which is passed the outer end of a coiled spring 63,

the end of the spring being bent against i the outer wall of the flange(Fig. 4) whereby it is made fast to the cup. The inner end of the springis fastened to an arbor or spindle 64 supported at the upper end in abracket 65 and at its lower end in the bottom socket of the cup (Fig. 5)whereby upon winding up of the spring, rotation is imparted to thearbor, the same as in ordinary clock mechanism. The spindle 64 carries agear wheel 66 which meshes with a pinion 67 on the shaft (60) of theroller (59). When the spring is under tension it will tend to rotate thearbor or spindle 64 and its gear wheel 66, and hence tend to impartrotation to the pinion 67 and the shaft i' (Fig. 5). When the web 50 isadvanced in "Y a direction to unwind from a roller (59, 59') it rotatesthat roller in a direction to cause the spring to wind up, the 'oppositeroller or that on which the web is wound being rotated in a direction tounwind its spring. This tends to impose an increasing tension on thespring connected with the unwinding roller, and a decreasing ,tensionVon the spring connected with the winding roller. It follows that whenthe quantity of web on one roller is equal substantially to that on theopposite roller, the tensions of the springs will be equ'alized, butfrom that moment, and with the farther advance of the web, one springwill begin to increase in tension while the other will begin todecrease. The tension of the spring identified with the roller fromwhich the web has been practically unwound will assist in the driving ofthe web when the direction of advance Vof the Vlatter has been reversed;but while that -is true, the springs 6B, 63', are not relied on fordriving the web, that being acthe disks a8, with elongated slots s', a',so

' that with any rotation of the disks '48 the pins will simply playthrough the slots s without engaging the web and the latter comes to adead stop (Fig. l2). 3f course in order to bring the slots to theposition Tindicated, a pin .t9 must first engage the nearest terminallofthe slot so as to effect a final advance in the web, the movement of theweb in such final advance bringing the end of the slot thus engaged outof range of succeeding pins, thereby allowing the disks to continue intheir rotations without affecting the web. Y

The operation will be clearly apparent from the foregoing descriptionbut may be briefiy summarized as follows: lf the car is to make anout-bound trip, the conductor or operator seizes a crank-handle 'suchasia, applying it to the-screw-sliaft 4t2 and turns the shaftcounter-clockwise (Fig. l) until the male clutch member m has engagedthe female member t, that fact being indicated by the head 52of the pin51 coming opposite the out notation on the check indicator I, (Fig. 8).ltith a travel of the car as indicated, we can assume that the directionof rotation imparted to the gear 38 and hence to the countershaft 39 isvas indicated bythe arrow in Fig. 6. This will impart rotation to the.shaft S in a.' direction to exert a draft on the web 50 so as to advance`t to the right (Figs. t, 5), that is to say, it will pull the web offor unwind the same from, the roller or reel 59 and cause it to wind onthe roller 59, being facilitated by the tension of the spring 63 .vhichaspreviously explained always tends to unwind and hence exerts a tensionon the web. 'At the same time, the draft on the web 50 by the pins 49ofthe disks 48 secured to the shaft S will. cause the roller 59 torotatein proper direction to wind up the spring 63', and thusprogressively increase its tension. This increasing tension on theroller which is being constantly stripped of its web is desirable,because with a constantly decreasing quantity of web the roller isbecoming lighter andfhencemore readily. turiied;l andito maintain'asnearly as possible a;constancyA of resistance to' the' 'draft on theweb, what-theuroller loses in weight it keeps gaining (in the matter ofresistance) by a corresponding. increaseinthe tension ofthe spring. VTheopposite roller (59') on-the other hand is increasingin cross-sectionaldiameterby reasonl of a constantfaccession of web vmaterial to itsperiphery so that a correspondingly increasing sweep-of vsaid vperipheryresults from the saine angulairotationV of the roller. This increasedperipheral travel tendsV to exert a draft on the section of web which isbeing wound on the roller, because it tends to wrap or take up agreaterlength of web j than is unwound from the rolleii) whose cross-sectionaldiameter is constantly decreasing. It is forY this reason therefore'thatthe winding of the spring 63 (63') -.is brought about by the unwindingor unwrapping of the web from its roller, the web being at all 'timeslrepttaut the'action ofthe springs which tend to unwind. The web ofcourse is actuated by the pins 49 on the disks' 48 (a single roller orcylinder or its equivalent could obviously be substituted for the twodisks'lS), the shaft of which derives its Vrotation from theclutch-shaft 35 which in turn is rotated by the shaft 34EV of vthereduction gearing operated from the flexible shaft 20. lf the carism-bound instead of out-bound, the operator shifts the male clutchmember m to engage the female t, whereupon the shaft S will rotate inthe opposite direction, and the web will travel in the oppositedirection; and what was previously the unwinding roller (59) will nowbecome the winding roller, the rollerv 59 becoming the unwinding roller.VShouldthe web be carried beyond its normal range of travel it will cometo a dead stop the moment the pins 49 come opposite the slots e', snofthe web 4as -already explained. To bring the web back to properposition, the operator moves the clutch member m to central orneutralposition so as to be disengaged from both females t, t, thus leaving theshaft 39 operatively disconnected frorn the clutch-shaft,

Vand by applying thecrank-handle AV to the square end w of the shaft GOof the roller 59 he can turn the roller the'necessary de-` gree to rightthe web. So too, should the web 50 at any time'while in service', be atvariance or vout of register with the streets which it should indicate,so that thenames of the streets exposed' through the glass Gr n0 longercorrespond with the actual streets the carris traversing or crossing,the error can be rectifiedor corrected by the Noperator or conductorapplying the "crank-handle A to the square end tot of the shaft Si, andgiving the shaft a sufficient turn or turns to bring the web to its trueor corrected position, it being understood of course-that beforethatisdone, the male clutch member is shiftedteicentra-l or neutral positionin lltlf order to disengage the shaft 39 from the clutch-shaft 35.

It is apparent from the foregoing that the details of the mechanism maybe departed from in many particulars without a departure from either thespirit or nature of our invention. Features shown but not alluded to arewell understood in the art and require no description in the presentconnec tion.

We do not wish to limit the invention for indicating streets merely, asit may be used to indicate stations, or stopping points for steam orinterurban cars; and the term street is not to be regarded as alimitation in any way, the same being herein used for convenience oftitle. Neither do we wish to restrict the indicator member to a webspecifically.

Having described our invention, what we claim is:

l.. In an indicator of the character described, a traveling web providedwith a series of alining perforations and elongated slots, a rotatingmember provided with peripheral radially disposed pins or teeth forengaging the perforations for advancing the web, andoperating throughthe slots without exerting an advance on the web, as set forth.

2'. In an indicator of the character described, a traveling web, a guidetherefor comprising a member provided with a deep narrow passage for thetraverse of a marginal section of the web, an actuating disk or wheel,peripheral radially disposed pins, the walls of the guide and passagethereof aforesaid being provided with elongated registering slots forthe traverse of the pins and peripheral portion of the disk or wheel,the web being provided with a series of openings or perforationsopposite the slots for the reception of the pins.

3. In an indicator of the character described, a traveling web, meansspaced a suitable distance apart for maintaining a given section of theweb taut or under tension, a guiding member interposed between saidmeans provided witha narrow passage for receiving a marginal section ofthe web, an actuating disk, peripheral radially disposed pins on thedisk, the walls of the passage aforesaid being provided with elongatedslots for accommodating the pins aforesaid, the web being provided withperforations opposite the slots for receiving the pins of the actuatingdisk.

4. In an indicator of the character described, a clutch-shaft, a slidingclutch-member on the shaft, a screw-shaft, a detachable crank-handle foroperating the screw-shaft, a sliding clutch member on the clutch-shaft,a clutch-shifter on the screw-shaft, an indicator for indicating thedirection of rotation of the screw-shaft to shift the clutch member in agiven direction, a second indicator serving as a check on the firstindicator, and a member on the clutch-shifter cooperating with saidsecond indicator, for the purpose set forth.

5. In an indicator of the character described, a traveling web, meansspaced a suitable distance apart for maintaining a given section of theweb taut or under tension, a guiding member interposed between saidmeans provided with a narrow passage for receiving a marginal section ofthe web, a rotary actuating member, radially disposed pins on saidmember, the walls of the passage aforesaid being provided with slots foraccommodating the pins aforesaid, the web being provided withperforations opposite the slots for receiving the pins of the actuatingmember.

6. In an indicator of the character described, a traveling web, meansspaced a suitable distance apart for maintaining a given section of theweb taut or under tension, a perforated guiding member interposedbetween said means and engaged by the marginal portion of the web, arotary actuating member, radial pins on said member operating throughthe perforations of the guiding member, the web being provided withperforations opposite the perforations of the guiding member forreceiving the pins of the actuating member.

In testimony whereof we aflix our signatures, in presence of twowitnesses.

ARCHIBALD S. B. LITTLE. ROBERT M. FEUSTEL. Witnesses:

F. G. LAwLER, P. G. LITTLE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each. by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. C.

